Summary
The rivalry betweenBattlefieldandCall of Dutyhas been subtly burning in the background for well over a decade now, but both franchises are in very different spots from where they first started. WhileCall of Dutymanaged to maintain its hold on the gaming industry by evolving slightly over time and continuing to expand,Battlefieldhas slipped in recent years, delivering a few games in a row that haven’t been major hits with critics or fans. ButBattlefieldmight finally have its opportunity to spring back into action.
While it may have still sold ridiculously well,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3was the worst critically reviewed gamein franchise history, and for good reason. An incredibly disappointing campaign and a fierce overreliance on nostalgia,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3marked a new low for the franchise, and it’s one thatBattlefieldcould easily exploit.
Battlefield’s Campaign Can Do What Modern Warfare 3’s Didn’t
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Campaign Dropped the Ball on Set Pieces
From the very first game in the franchise all the way back in 2003,Call of Dutyhas prided itself on its cinematic campaigns, with its big, bombastic set pieces often being one of the game’s biggest selling points. FromCall of Duty: Black Ops' Vietnamchopper sequences andCall of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Nuke toCall of Duty: World at War’s Stalingrad sniping mission, the bestCall of Dutycampaigns also tend to have the best set pieces, and even the worstCoDcampaigns still have one or two memorable set pieces to offer.
It was a bold move, then, forCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 3to have virtually no set pieces at all. Throughout its absurdlyshort three-hour runtime, players will come across maybe just one moment that could be considered a true action set piece, and it comes right at the beginning of the game during the opening prison escape sequence. And even then, this set piece is extremely short and doesn’t allow the player to actually interact very much with the action they’re being shown.
Instead of traditional action set pieces,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3traded them in for Open Combat missions. Not a bad idea on paper,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s Open Combat missionssaw players approach a set of objectives in a more open-ended environment, giving them freedom in their approach. However, the lackluster level design and ironically repetitive nature of these missions led to some of the dullestCall of Dutycampaign content in a while.
The Next Battlefield Should Go All In On Set Pieces
TheBattlefieldfranchise has never had the most memorable campaigns, but they’re far from being bad. In fact, severalBattlefield 3,4, andBattlefield 1missions are still talked about today as being some of the best in a military shooter. And now, it’s the perfecttime forBattlefieldto step out ofCall of Duty’s shadow, and beat it at its own game.
The nextBattlefieldgame should double down on its set pieces, including vehicle missions, missions that see the series' trademark destruction physics at full capacity, and missions that involve high-octane chases and plenty of loud explosions.Battlefieldhas often taken a more methodical and calm approach to its single-player content, but if it wants to go above and beyondCall of Dutyright now, it needs to go loud.
